"We support the Law School because of what it gave us personally and professionally and because of what it does for our communities, our state, and for the world. The Law School does an exceptional job training the next generation of leaders, preparing them to help negotiate and solve the complex problems that individuals, communities, and businesses face each day around the globe."

News

As writer Cathy Madison describes in this issue's cover story, "Health Law Challenges," the Affordable Care Act is one of the latest changes that will have ramifications for alumni practicing health law. She interviews a CEO at an addiction treatment center, a private practitioner, a chief legal officer at Mayo Clinic, and a chief administrative officer at a healthcare provider and finds that one common denominator is a fascination for their work. The issue also contains much more, including Law School activities, faculty news, accomplishments and grants, student and alumni news, events, and profiles.

Human Rights Educators USA, a newly established network that joins the global movement to build a culture of respect for human rights through education and research, officially opened for membership on International Human Rights Day, December 10.

The Law Library's Clarence Darrow Digital Collection has been awarded the 2012 Roy Rosenzweig Prize for Innovation in Digital History, co-sponsored by the American Historical Association and George Mason University's Center for History and New Media.

The University of Minnesota has received a $1.25 million grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through Higher Education for Development (HED), to create a human rights law school partnership between the university and four law schools in Medellín, Colombia. The partnership aims to strengthen the capacities of the Medellín schools to teach, research and provide clinical legal representation toward the promotion of international human rights and the rule of law.

This year's Minnesota Justice Foundation (MJF) Annual Awards Celebration took place Nov. 15, 2012, at International Market Square in Minneapolis. MJF honors the exemplary service of Minnesota legal professionals to low-income clients each year with its Outstanding Service Awards.

The Law School's Robina Institute of Criminal Law and Criminal Justice has chosen Kieran McCartan, senior lecturer in criminology at the University of the West of England, as the Robina Visiting Scholar for spring 2013. McCartan will be at the Law School April 1-28.

The Law School's Corporate Institute has launched its Mentoring Program, by inviting all Law School alumni to participate as mentors. This program gives law students opportunities to learn about business and business law careers. Students may search a database of University of Minnesota Law School alumni who have agreed to offer them mentoring opportunities.

Recently as counsel of record on behalf of the London-based Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB); legal scholars and experts Errol P. Mendes, David Petrasek, and John F. Sherman III; and the Law School's Human Rights Litigation and International Advocacy Clinic, Law School Professor and director of the Clinic Jennifer Green submitted an amici curiae brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum (Shell).

Michael Tompos, a 25-year fundraising veteran, was selected as the Law School's new Director of Advancement. He assumed his responsibilities on November 5, 2012. Tompos leads the Office of Advancement in overseeing efforts to raise money for student scholarships, faculty recruitment and retention, strategic initiatives, and core operating support. He also oversees special projects and activities to engage the Law School's 12,000 alumni working across the country and around the world.

Amanda Furst joined the Career Center staff this fall as its inaugural public interest coordinator, a position dedicated to administering the new Public Interest Scholars Program. Furst received her J.D. from the University of Iowa College of Law, and most recently, she was a career advisor at Hamline University School of Law.

The Law School's Corporate Institute has named its inaugural Board of Advisors to provide guidance toward the Institute's future vision and goals. The Board will suggest initiatives and strategies, offer feedback, and help develop resources to advance the Institute's projects.

The legal and art communities lost a devoted friend and generous supporter on Nov. 17, 2012, when Lillian S. Davis, known by many as "Babe," passed away in Minneapolis at age 95. Babe was the Law School's inaugural recipient of its Advancement of Excellence Award, presented to her in 2002 by then Dean E. Thomas Sullivan in honor of her "extraordinary contributions to the advancement of excellence in teaching, research and scholarship at the University of Minnesota Law School."

The Law School's Robina Institute of Criminal Law and Criminal Justice has awarded Visiting Fellowships to Minnesota Public Defender John Stuart for fall 2012 and Isanti County (Minn.) Attorney Jeff Edblad for spring 2013.

Events

The Minnesota Journal of International Law's 2013 symposium, "The Future of Warfare: The Law of Tomorrow’s Battlefields," will be held on Tuesday, February 5, 2013, in Lockhart Hall from 8:30 a.m. - 3:45 p.m. The keynote speaker will be Eric Talbot Jensen, Associate Professor of Law at Brigham Young University Law School. Dean David Wippman and Professors Oren Gross, Fred Morrison, Richard Painter, and David Weissbrodt will also participate on the panels.

Last year more than 140 judges and attorneys volunteered to judge the briefs and oral arguments at the William E. McGee Civil Rights Moot Court Competition. Again, the legal community’s participation is needed to make the 28th annual competition, taking place at the Law School Feb. 21-23, 2013, a success.

The Law School sponsors the national competition to promote interest in civil rights law and develop the oral advocacy and writing skills essential for successful appellate practitioners. Each year between 36 and 40 teams from U.S. law schools enter the competition, named for William E. McGee (’80), a dedicated advocate for the poor and underprivileged and the first African American appointed chief public defender in Minnesota.

In appreciation for their service, participating judges are offered a free continuing legal and judicial education program, which deals with the moot court problem, in advance of the competition.

Super CLE Week XXXIII will be held March 15-23, 2013. Law School faculty members will offer continuing legal education opportunities on a range of relevant topics including employment law, recent developments in securities law, freedom of speech, hot topics in family law, regulatory impact of climate change, corporate governance, ethics in criminal law practice, and identifying and eliminating bias and discrimination in the legal system. A total of 47 credits (including 5 ethics and 2 bias) have been approved for the program. For more information, call 612-625-6674 or email lscle@umn.edu.

Professor Richard Frase will deliver his Benjamin N. Berger Professor of Criminal Law reappointment lecture on Tuesday, April 2, 2013. His lecture, "A Sentencing System That Works: Hybrid Principles and Proven Procedures," will be presented in Lockhart Hall (Room 25) at 4:00 p.m. One CLE credit has been requested.

Professor Antony Duff will deliver his Russell M. and Elizabeth M. Bennett Chair in Excellence appointment lecture on Tuesday, April 9, 2013. His lecture, "Torts and Crimes, Harms and Wrongs," will be presented in Lockhart Hall (Room 25) at 4:00 p.m. One CLE credit has been requested.

The Robina Institute of Criminal Law and Criminal Justice will hold its 2nd annual conference, "American Exceptionalism in Crime and Punishment: Diagnoses and Solutions," on April 25, 2013. The conference will bring scholars, legal practitioners, and policy-makers together to examine the phenomenon of American exceptionalism in criminal justice. The term "American exceptionalism" describes the tendency for U.S. policies to diverge sharply from other Western countries. Building on the research of speakers Nicola Lacey and David Soskice, both of Oxford University, the conference will examine the causes of American exceptionalism and will compare U.S. criminal justice policies with those in other developed nations. It will also aim to develop proposals for how the U.S. system might be reformed moving forward. This conference is free and open to the public.

For the nearly one in three adult Americans with criminal records, the consequences of crime include not only punishment but also collateral sanctions on employment, housing, welfare, and other restrictions that often remain in effect well after individuals have completed their sentences. The Robina Institute of Criminal Law and Criminal Justice teamed with the Council on Crime and Justice to explore the issue of collateral sanctions at the 2012 Minnesota Justice Forum, "The Collateral Consequences of Criminal Records," October 19.

The Law School welcomed nationally recognized criminal justice scholar Professor David Harris of the University of Pittsburgh Law School on November 8 for a panel discussion entitled "Failed Evidence: Does Law Enforcement Resist Science?" Panelists included Ramsey County Attorney John J. Cloi; Metro Transit Police Dept. Chief John Harrington; and adjunct professor Jon Hopeman (’76) of Felhaber, Larson, Fenlon & Vogt. The panel was moderated by Clinical Professor Mark Kappelhoff, former prosecutor at the U.S. Dept. of Justice. Click here to watch the discussion.

The Law School offered the CLE seminar "How Watergate Revolutionized Legal Ethics" on November 13, 2012, which featured John W. Dean, former Nixon White House Counsel, and James D. Robenalt, a partner and former chair of the business litigation group at Thompson Hine's Cleveland office. Later that day, Dean joined Walter F. Mondale (’56), former U.S. vice president; Jill Wine-Banks, senior Watergate prosecutor; and Francis O'Brien, former assistant to Congressman Peter Rodino (chair of the Judiciary Committee that drew up the articles of impeachment of President Nixon), to speak to Professor Robert Stein's (’61) Great Cases course on the broad historical, political, and legal context of Watergate. Click here to watch the lecture.